Your Favorite Hero

[Feo Takahari]

I thought of doing this as an essay, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of a particular character and extrapolating possible characterization lessons from them, but really, this is more of a personal thing. So allow me to introduce my favorite hero:

For context, Last Scenario* is in part a game about just how badly wannabe heroes function in the context of realpolitik. We see five such wannabes over the course of the game, and four of them fall from grace in different ways. Hilbert's a gullible sap who sees everything in black and white, and when he blunders into trying to save the world from an army of demons, he's pretty obviously one false move away from turning out like his fellows.

To me, Hilbert's greatness can be divided into two parts: how he changes, and how he doesn't change at all. He gets more proactive as the game progresses, actively searching for ways to solve his problems instead of letting others tell him what to do. He gets wiser, recognizing and avoiding manipulation by other people. He gets more flexible, willing to fight dirty and attack without warning. But he never hurts civilians, he keeps trying to save as many lives as possible, and he recognizes and trusts in his true friends and allies. At one point or another, all but one faction in the entire game wants his head, but when he goes up against the final villain, every faction--including many of the villain's own men--recognizes him as a hero. He never changes so thoroughly that he stops being the adorable little dweeb he started out as, but he becomes the best possible dweeb he could be.

Also, he looks hilarious when he's trying to be serious.

Who's your favorite hero?

*Yes, it's called Last Scenario, from the creator of Exit Fate. Somebody's wearing his inspirations on his sleeve.

 

[Spider]

Batman comes to mind. Aside from saving people and fighting villains, he turned his fear into his symbol, and I think that's pretty cool.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I own 5 Superman t-shirts! lol

 

[Ireth]

Sam Gamgee, full stop. He's honest, hardworking, brave and loyal, and his character development throughout LOTR is amazing. He goes from a gentle hobbit who's fascinated but frightened of elves, to a stalwart warrior who gives his last crumb of lembas to his beloved friend, and carries him on his back up the side of a freaking volcano. And though he loves Rosie Cotton, not for a moment does he let that get in the way of his need and desire to protect Frodo and see the Ring destroyed. Only when their quest is done and all hope seems lost does he say "I would have married her."

 

[Ophiucha]

Favourite Traditional Hero: Odysseus. Archetypal, insofar as he is quite literally the template for many heroes who followed, yet I find him to be far more endearing. Cocky, yet rightfully so. He is wise, he has strong moral convictions, and he listens to people who tell him things. (His crew doesn't, but oh well.) I'd like to see a few more heroes like him instead of Heracles. And a runner up for nostalgia's sake: Xena. Though she was quite an interesting character, she was definitely closer to Conan the Barbarian and his lot than Odysseus, and I was honest when I said he was my favourite of the traditional heroes.

Favourite Non-Traditional Hero: Cordelia Chase, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel. Not the protagonist of her own show (a tragedy, even Willow got her own comic book side story) and not really a fighter (do not mention season four of Angel in my presence, please and thanks). Nonetheless, I find her moral convictions and internal strength to be... exceptional. I've genuinely never seen another character who could act as selflessly as she could, despite where she came from. The character growth for her alone is awe-inspiring. Season 3 of Angel is where she sort of comes together, but I kind of loved her even back when she was nothing more than the 'popular girl' foil to the Scoobies.

Favourite Hero, in General: Avice Cho, from Embassytown by China Mieville. No analysis here. She's just my favourite, from one of my favourite books, from one of my favourite authors, with many of the qualities I love in a character and in a hero, in a setting that just enhances them exponentially.

 

[Scribble]

Ireth went and took my first answer (Sam Gamgee), so I will have to go with Jason of Greek Legend. He was a mortal hero in a world of gods and monsters.

Jason performs heroic acts because he feels called to action and he is the man to do it. In that sense, he feels like a real hero. He isn't larger than life, he's not a demigod, he's the most a mortal can be in life.

Jason is a healer, a fighter, he's got wits, and he's got passions. He draws upon the wiles of his betrothed Medea. To his eventual tragic end, Jason went and got himself mixed up with a difficult woman who was as full of passion for him as poison. Still, he could not have achieved it all without her.

In the end, things turned quite ugly on the home front, but I like Jason's story, because he feels like a real person. So, he went and did all these feats, but you are left wondering about his choices. He is the quintessential mortal, and moral hero. He makes choices, and some are made for him, and he is left to try to sort out the pieces. Sometimes, he makes choices that don't end up well.

His end was tragic, full of irony about the desires of men. He was a hero with a flaw, and in the end suffered for scorning Medea. He was a shooting star. He dies as his ship's mast falls on him as he sleeps. However, he achieved greatness through action, and in the end his reward is the only thing a hero truly can gain: glory and fame. Whatever happens to him, he did slay the hydra, faced all those monsters, and he did retrieve the fleece.

I've always felt more kinship with Jason that say Odysseus. I like Achilles very much, but he was almost a demigod. Jason is a real mortal, and it doesn't seem like any gods are helping him, in fact it often seems quite the opposite. I like that Medea and their relationship is integral to both his success and his downfall. He's always stuck between his choices, his duty, and his desires. I find he is a complex hero with a story that resonates even in 2013.

 

[Reaver]

The Legendary Sidekick is my favorite hero.

 

[Mara Edgerton]

Edna Mode, darling!

A strong, independent woman who doesn't care that she's (apparently) not a super--she's too busy designing for gods, goshdarnit!

(With no capes, thank you very much. Why did the new Superman ignore her fashion advice on this topic? I haven't seen Man of Steel yet, but I'm sure he'll be sucked into a turbine engine or something before the end. )